(I was inspired to write this sermon after reading Lou Bartet’s sermon of the same title and text--most of this sermon is different, although you might pick up on a similar thought or two, I also used the same opening illustration that Lou credited to www.presidentialprayerteam.org)
May 25, 2003 Sunday Morning
TITLE: Call Unto Me
TEXT: Jeremiah 33:1-3
Introduction
I’m sure most of you will remember the sniper incident that terrorized the Washington area for awhile.
Before they caught the snipers, they managed to kill 10 people and wounded 3.
What you may not know is, prayer played a vital role in bringing that situation to an end.
50 Christian truckers got together to pray that somehow the sniper terrorizing the Washington area would be caught.
Ron Lantz was scheduled to retire in a few days and didn¡¦t even live in the area, but he felt sure that God would answer their prayers.
In fact, he told the others attending the prayer meeting that God was going to use him to catch the sniper.
A few days after they began to pray
Ron was listening to the radio as he was driving through the region
and he felt compelled to pull off the highway to a rest stop.
It was just a couple of miles from where the initial prayer meeting had taken place.
As he pulled in, he was shocked to see a car similar to what was being described on the radio.
Carefully trying to read the license plate, a chill went up his back as the numbers matched.
He quickly called 911 and stayed there for what he said were the longest 15 minutes of his life,
until the police arrived.
He pulled his truck across the exit,
so there would be no escape for these murderers.
The rest is history-
the snipers were taken into custody without incident
and the horrifying ordeal was over.
I heard that Ron Nantz attended a Nazarene Church and was a small group leader in his church.
I’m sure most people would look that and say that it was a coincidence...
But, I guess I’m not most people...
I believe that God heard the prayer of that group of truckers....
and many others who cried out to God...
I believe that God directed the mind of Ron Nantz...
And, I believe that God will direct us as well...
If we will humble ourselves before God in prayer...
and if we will listen to God’s voice when He speaks to us...
and, if we will obey, and do what God tells us to do.
We have devoted this month of May to prayer...
My prayer for you is that prayer has become an even more important part of your life...
and, my prayer for us as a Church is that, as this month comes to an end that this emphasis on prayer doesn’t end.
I hope that, although we will go on to other subjects as God directs us...
that prayer will be an underlying strength for our church.
This morning, I had planned to talk to you about the 3 relationships in prayer...
when we are born, our relationship with God is Creator-Creation...
When we get saved, our relationship with God is Father-Child
And as the relationship grows, we begin to know God as Friend...
And prayer is so crucial to the development of our relationship with God...
(idea from Jack Hyles book, "Exploring Prayer", pp 170-179)
But, I felt led to go a different direction...
Read Text: Jeremiah 33:1-3
When Jeremiah wrote this, he "was still confined in the courtyard of the guard" (33:1).
He is in prison and Jerusalem has been conquered and destroyed.
The Children of Israel had long hoped for the restoration of Jerusalem...
and to be united in their land.
But there was nothing that Jeremiah or the others could do to restore Jerusalem.
It was beyond their power.
So, God tells them, "just ask me...and I will tell you things that you cannot even begin to dream about."
Body
1. First of all, God tells the the people to "Call Upon Me"
The Hebrew word for "call" is the same word that is used in Psalm 147:9, to describe the "cry" of the young ravens for food.
When we lived in Anniston, some birds built a nest in our carport.
We hardly noticed them at first...
but after awhile, we begun to hear the cry of those young birds...
we would climb up on our van so we could see the baby birds...
and they would be in there just crying and crying...
mouths wide open...
just hoping that we had brought some worms with us.
If you compare that idea with the idea of prayer...
then you begin to see that our prayer life should be one of urgency...
we should be pouring out our hearts to God with great passion.
Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that we don’t have to break down into tears and convulsions everytime we pray...
sometimes our prayers are calm...quiet...and peaceful...
sometimes we meditate without great emotion...
but there should be other times....
times when our prayer becomes so urgent that we literally break down in tears...
there should be times when our hearts are so broken with whatever the burden is...that perhaps we cannot even mention the words...and we just communicate in groans and cries that only God could understand.
John Bunyan wrote, "When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without heart."
There are many verses in the Bible that exhort us to "call upon God"
Psalm 50:15 says, "call upon me in the day of trouble;
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, "you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart"
Psalm 10:17 says, "You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,"
Isaiah 30:19 "The Lord will hear your crying, and he will comfort you. When he hears you, he will help you" Isaiah 30:19 (NCV)
Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)
Psalm 91:15 God Himself says, "He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." Psalms 91:15 (NIV)
Do you begin to get the idea that God wants us to cry out to Him?
2. Not only does God tells us to "call upon Him"...
but God tells us, "I WILL answer you"!!
Some people pray to Buddah...but Buddah doesn’t answer...
Some people pray to Mohammed...but Mohammed is long gone...
Some people pray to the earth or the sky...but nature only points to another...
That being the God of the universe...
and God says, "if you call upon Me...I WILL answer"
If you aren’t getting answers to your prayers...
perhaps you need to take another look at your prayer life...
James tells us, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" James 5:16 (NIV)
Let me give you some examples from Scripture:
Hannah prayed...and God gave her Samuel.
Elijah prayed...and it didn’t rain for 3 1/2 years...
he prayed again...and it rained.
On another occasion, Elijah prayed...and God consumed the sacrifice that had been drenched with water.
Elisha prayed...and God gave life back to a dead child...
Samson prayed...and God gave him back his strength.
Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God...and the prison they were in was shaken and the jailer got saved!
Jesus prayed...a short prayer to His Father...and Lazarus was brought back to life!!
Again, Jesus cried out with a deep prayer of anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane...
and God answered...giving Jesus the strength He needed for the horrific days ahead.
(summarized briefly from "Prevailing Prayer" by D. L. Moody, pp. 7-14)
But, lest you think that God only answers the prayers of great men and women of the Bible...
James said that "Elijah was a man, just like us"
If Elijah was just like us...then we can expect that God will answer our prayers just like He did for Elijah.
Jesus said, that we will be able to do greater things that He did. (John 14:12)
My mom prayed for her alcoholic father for over 40 years; and he got saved before he died.
Sometimes God answers big prayers...sometimes He answers little prayers.
We had lost our checkbook, and Kay prayed that God would help us find it...and that day, our checkbook showed up in our mailbox!
I prayed that God would send us some new families for our church...
and suddenly we saw some new families coming to church!!
And during our testimony times...I know that you have prayed...and God has answered your prayers!!
3. Not only does God promise to answer our cry...
He promises to show us great and unsearchable things.
Another version states that God "will tell you great and mighty things"
And still another, "I will tell you marvelous and wondrous things"
Have you got a problem that is too big?
do you have a situation that is too complex?
Are you faced with a problem that would that would stump the smartest man in the world?
Just give your problem to Jesus...
And He will solve your problems in incredible ways that you never thought possible!
Whatever your problem...
whatever your situation...
whatever your burden...
Whatever your need,
God has just the right answer for you
Conclusion
BUT...you have to call on Him
God says, "’Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" Jer 33:3 (NIV)
